Mounting for double panels



Lmwssz R E T N U H F MOUNTING FOR DOUBLE PANELS Filed March 19, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet l INVEN OR.

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D 1937. FfHUNTER MOUNTING FOR DOUBLE PANELS Filed March 19, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES MOUNTING FOR DOUBLE PANELS FenleyHunter, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to Hunt er Sash Company, Incorporated,Flushing, N. Y., a corporation oi New York Application March 19, 1936,Serial No. 69,640

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel and improved manner of mounting doublepanels, the novel features of which will be best understood from thefollowing description and the annexed drawings, in which I have shown aselected embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view of a double panel mounted according to theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

m Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of'Fig. 1;

" Fig. 4 is a view taken from the opposite side of the panel mountingthan that appearing in Fig. 1, with parts shown in section, thesectional part being taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

1.3 Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a different form ofconstruction which may be used.

While the invention may have numerous uses, it may be assumed, for thesake of illustration, that it is employed in connection with railroadcar windows, where it has been found to be particularly useful. It willof course be obvious that it may be'used with other windows or panels inother locations, but it will simplify matters to discuss some of theproblems involved in the mounting of a double panel in railroad cars.

It is highly desirable that a panel in a car window should be mounted sothat it will be tightly held against vibration. This is desirable evenwith a single panel. With the advent of airconditioned cars, windowsashes, instead of being movable, are usually fixed in position andprovided with double panels of glass so that the space between the twopanels will provide an insulation 'for the car, from heat and noise.

According to one feature of my invention, I provide a mounting whichwill support two panels of glass or the like with a space between themand in such a way as to avoid any substantial 40 vibration of thepanels. The prevention of vibration becomes of greater importance whenusing two or more panels than when only a single panel is used. This isbecause the glass panels enclose a volume of air which, as noted above,45 is used as insulation. That air is maintained as dry as possible soas to avoid frosting in cold weather, but if there is sufficientvibration of one of the panels so as to cause it to become loose, thenmoist air may enter the space between 50 the panels. This undesirableresult is avoided by our construction.

According to another feature-of the invention, the panels are not onlyso mounted as to avoid any substantial vibration thereof and so as tosecurely seal the space therebetween against any accidental admission ofair, but a means is provided for maintaining the air between the panelssubstantially dry. This will prevent frosting of the outside panel incold weather.

Referring now to the drawings and more par- 5 ticularly to Figs. 1, 2,3, and 4, I have indicated the invention as employed in connection withthe window of a car, part of the frame of which is indicated at I, thisframe having an opening closed by a window 2 comprising glass panels 310 and 4. The frame supports thereon a bracket 5 surrounding the openingand having a'rib 6 extending inwardly towards the center of the opening.The inner edge of this rib defines the opening. While I shall sometimesrefer to the 15 bracket 5 as a separate element from the frame,nevertheless it is essentially a part of the frame to which it may besecured by rivets 6.

Extending in opposite directions from the rib 6 are shelves 1 and 8, andopposite each shelf is a flange 9 or Ill. The inner edges of theseflanges with the adjacent edges of the shelves form throats throughwhich may pass portions of resilient strips H and I2. These strips areresilient and preferably made of compressible material, and each'isprovided with a foot 13 or M which passes through one of the throats andis engaged beneath a shelf 1 or 8. When so engaged, the upper part ofeach strip is under compression between the inner edge of the flange andthe panel associated therewith. For example, the upper part of the strip12 appearing in Fig. 2 is under compression between the panel 4 and theedge of the flange Ill. The manner in which such a strip acts is morefully described 5 and claimed in the patent to Lytle Gale Hunter, No.1,891,932. Between each panel and the rib 6 a cushion 15 may be placed,and similar cushions I! may be used between the shelves and the adjacentedges of the panels. These cush- 40 ions, for example, may be made offelt.

The bracket 5 may be conveniently formed of extruded aluminum or of anyother suitable material, and provides a simple and very efficientsupport for the two panels, at the same time 00- operating with thestrips 1 l and H to effectively ,seal the space between the panelsso'that air may not escape therefrom or enter the space past the edgesof the panels. Each strip is preferably continuous and may be made inone piece with a 60 single joint indicated at l8, where the two ends ofa single strip may be brought together.

Mounted on the frame adjacent the panel mounting, and here shown asmounted above it,

is a device for preserving the air in the space between the panelssubstantially dry. The apparatus is best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and itwill be seen that it comprises a container IS in the form of two boxes20 and 2i, one on top of the other and connected at one end through ahole 22. One end of the lower box is open to the atmosphere through twoholes 23, and the same end of the upper box is connected to the spacebetween the panels as by means of a tube 24 communicating with a duct25, which may be a bore formed in the metal of the bracket 5.

The container l9 may be filled with some suitable material which willpermit the slow passage of air therethrough, but will catch the water inthe air as it passes therethrough. Any suitable water-absorbing oradsorbing material may be used, which, for the sake of convenience, Ishall claim as moisture-absorbing. One material which I have found to besatisfactory is that sold commercially as "Activated Alumina".

The device just described will operate in the following manner:

Assuming that the air within the space between the panels is undersufficient pressure to cause it to pass through the duct 25, it willwork through the material in the container i9 until it reaches theatmosphere at the holes 23. If, on the other hand, the pressures aresuch that air tends to flow into the aforesaid space, atmospheric airwill enter the container at the holes 23 and pass through the containerto the duct 25. In such passage, however, its moisture will be removedso that when it enters the space between the panels, it will bethoroughly dry. It will thus be seen that, as pressures vary, the moistair will leave the space between the panels and be replaced by dry air.

Preferably, the parts are assembled in dehydrated air so that the airinitially trapped in the space between the panels is relatively dry. Ifit is not dry enough for the desired purpose,

it may be removed through one or more ducts,

two of which are indicated at 26 at diagonally opposite centers to thepanels. Each of these ducts may have an end equipped with threads toreceive a cap 21 so that it will be normally closed, and the samethreads may be used for the purpose of attaching a pump so as toevacuate the space between the panels. The ducts 26 may be placed at anypoints desired, and as many such ducts may be used as found necessary.As the air is evacuated from the space between the panels, it will bereplaced entirely by air passing through the container i9, which airwill be thoroughly dry before it enters the space. At the same time itwill be seen that no other air can enter this space because of the tightseals provided along the edges of both panels.

In Fig 5, I have shown a modified construction, in which the frame Ireceives a bracket formed of two single brackets 28 placed back to backand separated by a continuous shim 29 through which the duct 25' may beformed. Otherwise, this construction functions in the same way aspreviously described, and further detailed description thereof will beomitted.

The invention described above has been found to be quite satisfactoryunder test. The moisture-absorbing material may be removed, dried, andused again, although ordinarily it will have a quite long life beforeany such renewal is found necessary. The two strips ii andi2, preferablymade of live rubber, are under suflicient compression to provide a tightseal for the space between the panels, and at the same time they yieldenough to absorb the many shocks to which a panel in a car is subjected.These shocks are absorbed by the strips without breaking the seal. Otherexpedients have'been tried in an effort to achieve the functionsachieved by my invention, but, so far as I know, they have all beenunsuccessful. Rigid tests, however, have shown the success of myinvention.

While I have shown the invention as embodied in a specific form, it isto be understood that various changes in details may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, a bracketsurrounding said opening and rigidly secured to said frame andcomprising a rib extending inwardly towards the center of the openingand defining the edge thereof, two shelves on said rib and. extending inopposite directions therefrom, two flanges on said bracket and disposedon opposite sides of said rib and extending inwardly towards the centerof the opening and having their inner edges spaced from the edges ofsaid shelves to form throats, two spaced panels, each larger than theopening defined by said rib and overlapping said rib on opposite sidesthereof, and two strips of resilient compressible material holding saidpanels against movement away from said rib, each of said strips having aportion thereof extending through one of said throats and intoengagement with the outer side:

of one of said shelves and each strip also being compressed between thepanel and flange associated therewith.

2. In combination, a' frame having an opening therein, a bracketsurrounding said opening and rigidly securedto said frame and'comprisinga rib extending inwardly towards the center of the opening and definingthe edge thereof, two shelves on said rib and extending in oppositedirections therefrom, two flanges on said bracket and disposed onopposite sides of said rib and extending inwardly towards the center ofthe opening and having their inner edges spaced from the edges of saidshelves to form throats, two spaced panels, each larger than the openingdefined by said rib and overlapping said rib on opposite sides thereof,and two strips of resilient compressible material holding said panelsagainst movement away from said rib, each of said strips having aportion thereof extending through one of said throats and intoengagement with the outer side of one of said shelves and each stripalso being compressed between the panel and flange associated therewith,said strips extending around the opening on all sides thereof, therebysealing the space between said panels.

3. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, a bracketsurrounding said opening and rigidly secured to said frame andcomprising a rib extending inwardly towards the center of the openingand defining the edge thereof, two shelves on said rib and extending inopposite directions therefrom, two flanges on said bracket and disposedon opposite sides of said rib and extending inwardly towards the centerof the opening and having their inner edges spaced from the edges ofsaid shelves to form throats, two spaced panels, each larger than theopening defined by said rib and overlapping said rib on opposite sidesthereof, two strips of resilient compressible material holding saidpanels against movement away from said rib, each of saidstrips having aportion thereof extending through one also being, compressed between thepanel and flange associated therewith, said strips, extending around theopening on all sides thereof,

thereby-sealing the space betweensaid panels, means for admittinga'small amount of air into said space, and means for removing moisturefrom said'air before entering said space.

4. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, two spaced panelssubstantially parallel to each otherand extending across said opening,

- a bracket secured to said frame and having a rib extending around theedge of said opening and inwardly between the edge portions of saidpanels, a resilient strip of compressible material en-' gaging the faceof eachpanel and holding said panel against said rib, spaced membersforming a throat on either side of said rib, said strips each having aportion extending through one of said throats and laterally into arecess in the bracket, means for admitting a small amount of airinto thespace between said panels, andmeans for removing moisture from said airbefore entering said space.

5. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, two spaced panelssubstantially parallel to each other and extending across said opening,

a bracketsecured to said frame and having a rib extending around theedge of said opening and inwardly between the edge portions of saidpanels, a resilient strip of compressible material engaging the face ofeach panel and holding said panel against said rib, spaced membersforming a throat on eitherside of said rib, said strips each having aportion extending through one of said throats and laterally into arecess in the bracket, means for admitting a small amount of air intothe space between said panels, means for removing moisture from said airbefore entering said space, and other means for removing air from, orfor introducing air into, said space.

6. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, two spaced panelssubstantially parallel to each other and extending across said opening,a bracket secured to said frame and having a rib extending around theedge of said opening and inwardly between the edge portions of saidpanels, a resilient strip of compressible material engaging the face ofeach panel and holding said panel against said rib, spaced membersforming a throat on either side of said rib, said strips each having aportion extending through one of said throats and laterally into arecess in the bracket, a duct leading from the space between saidpanels, and a container of moisture-absorbing material connected to saidduct and opening to the atmosphere, so that air may pass through saidmaterial to or from saidspace.

7. In combination, a frame having an opening therein, two spaced panelssubstantially parallel to each other and extending across said opening,a bracket secured to said frame and having a rib extending around theedge of said opening and inwardly between the edge portions of saidpanels, a resilient strip of compressible material engaging the face ofeach panel and holding said panel against said rib, spaced membersforming a throat on either side of said rib, said strips each having aportion extending through one of said throats and laterally into arecessin the bracket, a duct leading from the space between said panels,a container of moisture-absorbing material connected to said duct andopening to the atmosphere, so that air may. pass through'said materialto or from said space, and one or more other normally closed ductsleading from said space to the atmosphere, for the purpose set forth.

FENLEY HUNTER. 4o

